Busy Bees Playgroup

A dedicated playroom, its own garden and a committee drawn from attending families give Busy Bees Playgroup a clear community identity. Based within Castle Hill Primary School in Brockworth, it operates independently of the school. Parents can help shape the playgroup through its elected management committee, whose fundraising supports equipment, resources and experiences.

Busy Bees accepts children aged two to four and has 20 places in total. At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good, found that individual needs were supported through adaptations to routines and the environment, and concluded that safeguarding arrangements were effective. The practical offer combines morning sessions with full days during school terms.

For parents, the appeal is a preschool setting with outdoor space and several ways to take part in children's learning. Its school address is useful context, but attendance does not guarantee a Reception place at Castle Hill Primary School.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: children learn through play, developing language, movement and relationships alongside early number work, literacy, creative expression and exploration of their surroundings. Busy Bees combines activities led by adults with play initiated by children. Practitioners use children's interests and observations of their development to plan what comes next.

The curriculum connects these areas rather than treating them as separate lessons. Its emphasis on fine motor development gives practical purpose to handling tools and materials. Activity plans include tweezers, cutting, threading and playdough, providing different ways to practise the hand movements children use when making marks and managing everyday tasks.

Colour Monster Stories sit alongside activities about recognising and expressing emotions. Children can make their own monsters from paint and recycled materials, explore facial expressions using mirrors, and use mood cards when discussing feelings. This gives the theme a purpose beyond craft: vocabulary about happiness, sadness and anger connects stories with children's own experiences.

In January 2025, children used magnifying glasses to investigate webs and persisted with moving a loaded truck through a gate. Songs supported counting, while outdoor preparation gave children opportunities to attempt dressing themselves. These examples show how exploration, number work and independence fitted into ordinary play.

Questioning needed more attention. In January 2025, adults sometimes moved on before children had sufficient thinking time, and questions did not consistently invite fuller answers. The improvement priorities were clearer use of communication supports and more opportunities for children to explain ideas and solve problems.

Outdoor and Community Life

The playgroup's outside space includes a natural area beside the playroom, and outdoor activities continue across the year. Suitable coats, footwear and sun hats therefore belong in the everyday kit. Clothing that children can manage themselves also supports the playgroup's emphasis on independence.

Outdoor learning included books as well as physical exploration in January 2025: children shared stories under a blanket outside. They also helped inspect the play area, using pictures on a clipboard to spot possible hazards such as a slippery slide. This made safety something children discussed and practised themselves.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person allocated before starting. Where attendance falls on a day that this practitioner is absent, a Buddy Key Person takes over the role. That arrangement gives families a clear contact while allowing care to continue across their child's chosen days.

Settling support follows the child. The key person stays close during the early stages, using favourite activities to help with separation, and younger children can build towards a complete session over around six weeks. Parents are offered a home visit, with an introductory meeting at playgroup as an alternative.

Learning Book Learning Journeys bring observations together to identify progress and plan further learning. Parents can contribute achievements from home and their child's comments. A discussion after approximately six weeks covers settling and development, giving families a specific opportunity to compare what happens at home with what practitioners see at playgroup.

Parent Rota offers another form of involvement: parents can join a morning, take part in activities and observe their child at play. It turns parent partnership into something more concrete than a handover conversation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SEND policy sets out an assessment and planning process involving the child's key person, the SENCO and parents. My Plan and My Plan + organise support through planning, review and adjustment. Links with Speech and Language Therapists and early years advisers provide routes to additional professional input, with parental permission sought for liaison and transition arrangements.

Staff hold early years qualifications and have first-aid and child-protection training. Collection arrangements include a password system when the collecting adult is unfamiliar to staff, and medication requires prior written parental consent. These are practical procedures families need to understand before care begins.

Children bring fruit to share at snack time and a healthy packed lunch for full days; milk and water are supplied. Families must notify staff about allergies and dietary requirements, and drinking bottles must contain water only because of other children's allergies.

Supervised daily toothbrushing is offered alongside oral care at home. Parents supply a toothbrush and toothpaste in a named, sealed container, so these consumables form part of the family's preparation.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Castle Hill Primary School, Abbotswood Road, Brockworth, Gloucester, GL3 4NU. Busy Bees follows Gloucestershire school terms and closes for school holidays.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday. Friday mornings are reserved for children starting school the following September. Full-day sessions run from 9am to 3pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, giving families a choice between shorter mornings and a day extending through lunch.

The minimum requested attendance is two sessions each week or one full day. Cancelling sessions requires two weeks' notice. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and the playgroup may use a waiting list when it cannot accommodate a requested pattern.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children aged two, three and four, including the free 15-hour entitlement and 30-hour working families entitlement. Attendance is term-time. Private fees are payable in advance for each half term; families should obtain current prices in a written quotation.

Parents provide lunch and the shared fruit contribution, as well as the toothbrush and toothpaste used for toothbrushing. These preparations apply alongside choosing and booking sessions.

Getting There

The school car park cannot be used by playgroup families, and parking on the wavy lines outside the gates is prohibited. Build those restrictions into collection arrangements.

Although Busy Bees shares the school site and maintains close links with its staff, it is a separate playgroup. Attendance does not guarantee admission to Castle Hill Primary School; families still need to make a separate school application.

• Friday has a specific purpose. Its morning session is for children entering school the following September. Discuss how that restriction fits your child's age and the two-session or one-full-day minimum when arranging a visit.
• Communication during changes of activity. In January 2025, visual supports were used inconsistently and children sometimes needed longer to answer questions. During a visit, ask how staff now use these supports and allow thinking time.
• Term-time costs and preparation. Funded entitlements sit alongside parent-supplied lunches, fruit and toothbrushing items. Ask for a written quotation showing how your intended sessions and funded hours fit together.
• A school site with separate admissions. Busy Bees attendance does not secure a Castle Hill Primary School place. Treat the playgroup choice and the Reception application as separate decisions.

Busy Bees suits families seeking either morning preschool sessions or full days within a term-time routine, with an interest in outdoor play and direct parent involvement. Its garden, Parent Rota and parent-led committee give that community model practical substance.

The January 2025 Good judgement supports the choice, while the communication priorities deserve attention when visiting. The deciding practical points are the shorter weekly timetable, Friday's preschool restriction and the responsibility for supplying food and toothbrushing items. For families whose routines fit those arrangements, Busy Bees offers a clearly defined preschool experience.